Methods

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We hope you enjoy documentation for the
Josh4416 Test
API on StdLib!
This API can be used via the command line (shell), Node, Ruby, Python or
as a generic HTTP call in any language. Check the code examples on the right
associated with each API method for how to use this API in your
language of choice.

# Your StdLib Slack App
Welcome to your StdLib Slack template!
If you're not sure what StdLib ("Standard Library") is, please check out
https://stdlib.com.
Here we'll walk you through how StdLib works, your Slack App endpoints,
and how to handle Slack Slash Commands, Events, and Actions from interactive
messages.
# Your Project
The first thing you'll probably notice is your `functions/` directory. This is
your StdLib function directory which maps directly to HTTP endpoints. There are
four main functions in your Slack App:
- `__main__.js`
- `auth.js`
- `commands/__main__.js`
- `events/__main__.js`
We'll go through these in the order listed here.
## Function: `functions/__main__.js`
This is your main endpoint, corresponding to `https://username.lib.id/service/`.
This is, of course, where `username` is your username and `service` is your service
name.
Any time a function has the filename `__main__.js`, the enclosing folder is
used as the route name over HTTP. You can think of it like the default function
for a specific directory.
Note that when pushing to a development environment (or if you want to access
a specific version), this should be reached via:
`https://username.lib.id/service@dev/main` (if your dev environment is called
`dev`, also the default local environment name) or
`https://username.lib.id/service@0.0.0/main` (if your version is 0.0.0).
### Usage
This endpoint generates a template based on the contents of `pages/index.ejs`,
which is modifiable and contains your "Add to Slack" button. It is the easiest
way to distribute your app to other users.
## Function: `functions/auth.js`
This is the OAuth endpoint for your Slack App that verifies another team (or your
own) has properly validated the slack app.
### Usage
This endpoint processes an OAuth request and returns the contents of
`slack/pages/auth.ejs`. (Typically "Success!" if successful.)
## Function: `functions/commands/__main__.js`
This is the main **Command Handler** function for handling Slack Slash Commands.
You can read more about them here: https://api.slack.com/slash-commands
This function is triggered by slack at the following URL:
`https://<username>.lib.id/<service>@<ver>/commands/:bg`
Where `<username>` is your username, `<service>` is the service name and
`<ver>` is the environment or semver release of your service. The `:bg`
indicates you'd like this function to return an HTTP 2XX code as quickly as
possible and do all processing behind the scenes. (Ideal for Slack.)
### Usage
To add or modify Slash commands, you'll want to look in the directory
`functions/commands/` and create files with the name
`functions/commands/NAME.js` where `NAME` is your intended command,
and also add them to your Slash Commands list via Slack's Slash Command interface.
For the default "hello" command (should be added as `/hello` to your app) you'll
notice the following boilerplate code:
```javascript
module.exports = (user, channel, text = '', command = {}, botToken = null, callback) => {
callback(null, {
response_type: 'in_channel',
text: `Hello, <@${user}>...\nYou said: ${text}`
});
};
```
In this function, `user` and `channel` are strings representing the user and
channel the command was called from. The contents of the command (text) are
available in `text`, a full `command` object is available
that contains all data passed from slack (https://api.slack.com/slash-commands),
and a botToken for your Slack App's bot is passed in (if you want to use it
to post additional messages, upload files, etc.).
The first parameter passed to `callback` is an error (if present), use `new Error()`
when possible. The second parameter is a `chat.postMessage` object,
more details can be found here: https://api.slack.com/methods/chat.postMessage.
You can test the sample hello command on the command line by running
```shell
$ lib .commands.hello test_user general "some text"
```
## Function: `functions/events/__main__.js`
This is the main **Event Handler** function for handling public channel events
from Slack's Event API: https://api.slack.com/events
This function is triggered by slack at the following URL:
`https://<username>.lib.id/<service>@<ver>/commands/:bg`
Where `<username>` is your username, `<service>` is the service name and
`<ver>` is the environment or semver release of your service. The `:bg`
indicates you'd like this function to return an HTTP 2XX code as quickly
You'll notice an `* @bg params` line in the comments for this function. This
means, when executed as a background function, it will return a JSON object
mapping to the parameters passed to it (which also passes Slack's `challenge`
litmus test).
### Usage
This function will delegate incoming commands to their appropriate handler,
which can be placed in `functions/events/TYPE.js` or `functions/events/TYPE/__main__.js`
as these are functionally equivalent. If there is a subtype involved,
`functions/events/TYPE/SUBTYPE.js` or `functions/events/TYPE/SUBTYPE/__main__.js`
will be invoked.
By default your `functions/events/message/__main__.js` should look like this:
```javascript
module.exports = (user, channel, text = '', event = {}, botToken = null, callback) => {
// Only send a response to certain messages
if (text.match(/hey|hello|hi|sup/i)) {
callback(null, {
text: `Hey there! <@${user}> said ${text}`
});
} else {
callback(null, {});
}
};
```
In this function, `user` and `channel` are strings representing the user and
channel the event was triggered by. The contents of the command (text) are
available in `text`, a full `event` object is available
that contains all data passed from slack (https://api.slack.com/events),
and a botToken for your Slack App's bot is passed in (if you want to use it
to post additional messages, upload files, etc.).
The first parameter passed to `callback` is an error (if present), use `new Error()`
when possible. The second parameter is a `chat.postMessage` object,
more details can be found here: https://api.slack.com/methods/chat.postMessage.
You can test the sample message event on the command line by running:
```shell
$ lib .events.message test_user general "hello"
```
# Utilities
This Slack App template comes with some utility function in `slack/utils`.
We'll go over a few of them;
- message.js
- update_message.js
- respond.js
- upload.js
## Utility: `utils/message.js`
This function has a fingerprint of:
```javascript
module.exports = (token, channel, text, callback) => {}
```
Where `token` is your bot token (the token used for the bot response),
`channel` as the channel where the response is expected, `text` being a
string or `channel.postMessage` object (for more granular control),
and `callback` being a function expecting one parameter (an `error`, if applicable)
that executes the call.
Use this function to get your bot to send messages to users or channels --- that's
it. The `token` field should be passed in any `slack/commands` or `slack/events`
handlers.
## Utility: `utils/update_message.js`
This function has a fingerprint of:
```javascript
module.exports = (token, channel, ts, message, callback) => {}
```
Where `token` is your bot token (the token used for the bot response),
`channel` as the channel where the response is expected, `ts` as the timestamp
of the message being updated, `message` being a string or `chat.update` object
(for more granular control) that will replace the original message, and
`callback` being a function expecting one parameter (an `error`, if applicable)
that executes the call.
Use this function to get your bot to update messages in channels.
## Utility: `utils/respond.js`
Very similar to `message.js`, this is a Slash Command response that `HTTP POST`s
a message to a webhook endpoint instead of creating a new bot message directly.
The benefits this has over `message.js`, is that Slash Commands can be used in
private channels (or globally, within a team) where applicable.
## Utility: `utils/upload.js`
Similar to `message.js`, this function has a fingerprint of:
```javascript
module.exports = (token, channel, filename, contentType, file, callback) => {}
```
Where `token` is your bot token, `channel` is the channel to upload a file to,
`filename` is the desired filename, `contentType` is the desired content type
(i.e. a string like `image/png`), file is a `Buffer` of file contents
and `callback` is a function that can handle an optional `err` parameter.
# Helpers
There are a few helper functions for message formatting, etc. Feel free to
look at them at your leisure, we've documented `storage.js` to better understand
how team data is stored.
## Helper: `helpers/storage.js`
This is a storage helper based upon https://stdlib.com/utils/storage. It
is a basic key-value store that saves crucial team (including bot) details
about each and every team its installed on, specific to the `SLACK_APP_NAME`
field in your `env.json` and your StdLib (https://stdlib.com) account. You
should probably avoid interfacing with this function directly, but it should
be noted that it is *critical* for the ability to install your app on
multiple teams.
# That's it!
We hope this has served as a welcoming introduction to your
Slack App project scaffold on [StdLib](https://stdlib.com) --- happy building!

Slack Slash Command Handler: This function receives slash command from Slack and dispatches the appropriate handler. You should use this function as the endpoint for all commands, and place commands in /functions/commands/NAME.js, where NAME is the name of your command. You can test individual slash commands from the command line with: $ lib .commands.NAME [username] [channel] [text]

Slack Event Handler: This function receives events from Slack and dispatches the appropriate handler. If an event has no subtype, it will invoke /functions/events/TYPE.js or /functions/events/TYPE/__main__.js, otherwise it will invoke /functions/events/TYPE/SUBTYPE.js. You can test individual events from the command line with: $ lib .events.TYPE.SUBTYPE [username] [channel] [text] The "@bg params" line below tells StdLib that when this function is invoked as a background function over HTTP it should just respond with whatever parameters were passed in as a JSON object. (This handles Slack's "challenge" parameter.)